Waking to See Christ's Glory
(No. 2658)
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JANUARY 21, 1900.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER 3, 1882.
"And when they were awake, they saw His glory and the two men that
stood with Him." Luke 9:32.
It seems, at first sight, a strange thing that the Apostles should have
been asleep at such a time, yet, if we think of the circumstances in
which they were placed and of the extreme excitement under which they
must have labored, it will not appear at all amazing that "Peter and
they that were with Him were heavy with sleep." In the 28th verse it is
written, concerning our Lord, "He took Peter and John and James, and
went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His
countenance was altered and His raiment was white and glistening." We
know that the Savior frequently retired to some quiet, secluded spot
for fellowship with His Father and that, sometimes, He spent the whole
night in prayer. It is very probable that on this occasion He had been
engaged in earnest prayer for several hours before the Transfiguration
came. And it is worthy of note that He was transfigured while He was
praying. Every blessing comes to the great Head of the Church and to
all the members of His mystical body through prayer! There is nothing
promised to us without prayer, but, with prayer, everything is provided
for us–and by prayer we shall ascend into Glory.
I cannot tell how long the Lord had been in prayer but, judging from
His usual manner and custom, I should suppose that He had spent some
hours in supplication. Even the three most highly favored Apostles were
not as spiritually minded as He was and they grew weary while He was
still full of holy vigor and fervor. The most zealous among us might be
tired of listening to the best man in the world if he were to keep on
praying hour after hour, yet he himself might be enjoying a special
baptism of the Spirit and be quite unconscious of fatigue and, in his
wrestling with God, might be all the while going from strength to
strength. We, who were merely onlookers, would probably grow drowsy and
be unable to keep up the strain as he would keep it up–our spirit
might be willing enough to sympathize with him–but the weakness of our
flesh would make us, like the Apostles, "heavy with sleep." I wonder
not, therefore, if the Savior's supplication was long-continued and
that His disciples grew weary and fell into a state of slumber!
Probably, however, their sleeping was the result of the extraordinary
excitement through which they had passed, for, as in extreme pain, kind
Nature comes to the rescue and causes a swooning or fainting fit by
which the poor sufferer is relieved. sometimes she comes in when there
is a stress of mental excitement, whether joyous or grievous, and gives
rest, even by unwilling slumber, to those who otherwise might have been
exhausted. You remember, dear Friends, that these very persons fell
asleep in Gethsemane. When their Master rose up from His agony of
prayer and came back to them, "He found them sleeping for sorrow." They
were themselves so depressed in spirit by His sufferings, that although
they had true sympathy with Him, as far as they could have it, they
fell asleep and their Master, while gently chiding them, made excuse
for them as He said, "What, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch
and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit, indeed, is
willing, but the flesh is weak."
These Apostles are not the only persons who have slept in the presence
of the grandly supernatural. It happened so to Daniel–that Seer with
the burning eyes who seemed as if he could look right into the glories
of Heaven without blinking or being blinded by the wondrous vision! Yet
we read in his 8th Chapter, at the 18th verse, when an angel appeared
to him, "Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my
face toward the ground: but he touched me and set me upright." And
further, in the 10th Chapter, at the 8th verse, we read, "Therefore I
was left alone and saw this great vision,
and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in
me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice
of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a
deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground." These
supernatural things are too much for mortal men to endure! The narrow
compass of our mind cannot contain the Infinite and if, when we behold
the Glory of God to an unusual degree, we do not die–if our lives are
spared after we have seen that great sight–at least the image of death
must come upon us and we must fall into a deep sleep. I will not,
therefore, blame Peter, James and John for sleeping on that memorable
occasion, for I do not think that there was any sin in their slumbering
under such circumstances. They were Apostles, but they were only men
and, being men, they were feeble creatures. And when they came into
those deep waters, they were altogether out of their depth, so they
began to sink in the ocean of the Divine Glory and soon were lost in
the unconsciousness of sleep. Marvel not, therefore, Brothers and
Sisters, that you find these three Apostles slumbering even in the
Presence of their Transfigured Lord!
But, now–and this will be our first head–it was necessary that they
should be awake to see the glories of Christ Secondly, if you and I are
to see the glories of Christ, it is necessary that we, also, should be
awake, and that is more than can be said of all of us. I may say to
some, "Let us not sleep as others do," for there are many who are so
soundly sleeping that they are quite oblivious of the glories of
Christ. When I have spoken on those two points, I want to close my
discourse by showing you that this doctrine of the necessity of our
wakefulness explains many things.
I. "When they were awake, they saw His glory and the two men that stood
with Him." So, first, IT WAS NECESSARY FOR THEM TO BE AWAKE TO SEE
CHRIST'S GLORY.
It was necessary, first, that Christ's Transfiguration might be known
to be a fact–not a dream, nor a piece of imagination which had no real
existence. "When they were awake, they saw His glory." It was a literal
matter of fact to them. As surely as Christ was born at Bethlehem. As
certainly as He toiled in the carpenter's shop at Nazareth. As truly as
His blessed feet trudged over the holy fields of Judaea. As truly as He
healed the sick and preached the Gospel wherever He went and as really
as He did actually die upon the Cross of Calvary, so it is a matter of
plain fact that Jesus Christ did, on a certain mountain–what mountain
we do not know–undergo a wonderful change, for the time being, in
which His glory was marvelously and distinctly displayed so that His
three disciples could see it!
"And, behold, there talked with Him two men"–Elijah, who never died,
and who was there with Him bodily. And Moses, who did die, and so may
only have been there in spirit, unless that dispute between Michael the
Archangel and the devil, about the body of Moses, may relate to the
fetching away of that body that he might enjoy the same privilege as
Enoch and Elijah did. Of that matter, I know nothing, but those two
men, Moses and Elijah, were certainly there–not merely in appearance,
but in reality. And our Lord Jesus Christ was really transfigured–"the
fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and
glistening." It is true that Peter did not know what he said, but he
knew what he saw when he was wide awake. The Revised Version renders
our text, "When they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two
men that stood with Him." They had not imagined this scene while they
were in a semiconscious state between sleeping and waking! It was no
night vision or daydream. It was not something painted by fancy upon
their eyeballs and which had no actual existence, but it was a real
meeting between their Lord and Moses and Elijah. They did see Christ
and His two companions from Heaven and they did hear the Father's
voice, saying, "This is My beloved Son: hear Him."
Peter did not know what he said, but he knew what he heard. He was wide
awake enough to understand that message and, long afterwards, he
recalled it when he wrote concerning his Lord, "For He received from
God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him
from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. And this voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were
with Him on the holy mount." So, you see, dear Friends, that they had
to be awake in order that they might be able to confirm all this as an
actual occurrence. And, to my mind, this is very pleasant. I like to
remember that the Lord Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, let some beams of His
glory shine out even while He was here below. And if, in His
humiliation, His transfigured face appeared so bright, what must His
glory be above where His face shines brighter than the sun, and His
eyes are as flames of fire, and his feet like fine brass, as if they
burned in a furnace? What is now the matchless beauty of that Visage
which was marred more than that of any other man? When He did but for a
moment withdraw the veil, His disciples were overwhelmed with the
magnificence of the display! But what must it be to see His face
forever in Heaven above?
Next, it was necessary that the disciples should be awake, that they
might see the real glory of Christ I trust they were spiritual enough
to know that the splendor which they saw was not the essential glory of
Christ's Godhead, for that no man can see. Neither was it that secret
spiritua1 glory which Christ always had, for that is not a sight for
human eyes to behold, but for loving hearts to think of with reverent
affection. But it was a special glow which was, for the time, shed upon
His Humanity and even upon the garments in which that Humanity was
arrayed, so that "His raiment was white and glistening." The Apostles
then saw Christ in some measure as He will be, by-and-by, and, being
fully awake, they knew that it was not an illusion that they were
looking upon, but that it was real glory which streamed from the
Savior's face and from every part of His most blessed and adorable
Person. We are glad to know that Christ has no fictitious honors and no
empty pomp, but that there is about Him a real glory which our opened
eyes may see and which we may perceive without being fanatical or
frenzied! Such a glory as we can see in the time of our quiet, calm
judgment and earnest, deliberate thought, when every faculty is in full
exercise and our whole soul is in the enjoyment of the utmost degree of
vigorous health. I care little for the visions that need night,
curtains and dreams before they can be perceived! I prefer the glory
which can be seen by a man when he is fully awake and all his faculties
are awakened so that he is able to discern between truth and fiction,
and to detect any imposition that may be attempted to be played upon
him.
Further, these disciples were fully awake that they might perceive
somewhat of the greatness of Christ's glory. Do you not envy these
three holy men who saw our Lord in the holy mount? So glorious was He
that even the mountain, itself, was made "holy" wherein this
transaction occurred, for so Peter called it. From that time it was as
holy as Sinai, itself, where God came down in terrible pomp of power to
proclaim His Law. Had not these Apostles been wide awake, they would
not have perceived how truly marvelous is Christ's glory. What would
not any of us give, just now, for a sight of Christ with our eyes wide
awake? What must He be like who is the very center of Heaven's glory?
All the grandeur of man is but external, but there is about Christ's
very face a beauty of character which continually shines out–the
luster of Deity which gleams through His Humanity so that to see Him as
He is must be the fairest sight in the whole universe! To behold Him
but for a momentmust be the most dazzling vision that ever fell to the
lot of men! Did you ever hear dying men and women talk about Him when
they have begun to see Him? What strange words sometimes drop from
their lips just as they are departing this life–giving us just a hint
as to how grand He must be whose glory the Apostles saw when they were
with Him on the holy mount!
One thing which they were fully awake to see was this, the singularity
of the glory. If you read the text, you will notice that when they were
awake, "they saw His glory"–and the glory of Moses and Elijah? Oh, no!
Not at all. But did they not see Moses and Elijah? Yes, but mark how
the text sinks, as it were, when it speaks of them–"They saw His glory
and the two men that stood with Him." There is nothing about any glory
being around or upon them–they are nothing but "the two men that stood
with Him." He is fairer than the children of men, greater than Moses
and greater than Elijah, mighty as both of them were! I think that we
never truly see Christ until we behold Him all alone–as we never see
the sun and the stars at the same time. If you once see the sun
flooding the sky with its glow, you will find that the stars have
disappeared. The Apostles saw the greatest of the Prophets and the
great law-giver, after whom there was never the like till Christ
Himself came–yet the Inspired record concerning the event is, "They
saw His glory and the two men that stood with Him." May you never see
any earthly representatives of the Church of God in any higher place
than this! In the Church and in all its ministers, may you see His
glory and the men that stand with Him. And when you look upon those
whose feet are beautiful because they proclaim the Gospel of Christ,
yet may you only see His glory and the men that stand with Him to speak
in His name!
The Apostles needed to be wide awake to discern this difference and so
do we, for many, nowadays, seem to have no more respect for Christ than
they have for His disciples. I know that there are some who think more
of a dogma that was promulgated by Calvin, because it is Calvin's, than
they do of that which Christ has preached because it is Christ's! And
there are some who will refer everything they believe to "The Minutes
of Conference," or the sayings of Mr. Wesley, but some of the sayings
of Christ do not seem to have as much weight with them. As for us, I
trust that we may always see the true and noble men who stand with
Christ, but, first of all, may we see His glory because Christ has
awakened us out of that sinful sleep in which we make no distinction
between the Master and the servant! Happy are we if He has taught us
that the greatest of His servants is not worthy to unloose the laces of
His shoes!
So much, then, upon the necessity for these three men being fully
awake.
II. Now, Brothers and Sisters, let me speak to you upon the second part
of our subject which is that IT IS NECESSARY FOR US, ALSO, TO BE AWAKE
IF WE ARE TO SEE CHRIST'S GLORY.
We have not dreamt our religion. It has not come to us as a vision of
the night, but when we were fully awake, we saw Christ's glory. We have
seen His glory when we have been awake without weariness, awake without
pain, awake without losses, awake without fears and trembling. In our
coolest moments, when there was the least likelihood of our being
deceived, we have seen His glory as our Savior, our Helper, our Keeper,
our All-in-All. Set that fact down, then, and stand to it before the
face of every man who dares to speak a word against Jesus of Nazareth,
the Son of God, that just as truly as "when they were awake, they saw
His glory," so have we seen it in our most wakeful and calm and quiet
moments!
But, dear Friends, let me impress upon your minds the truth that, in
order to see the glory of Christ, it is necessary that we should be
fully awake. Are we fully awake? Is there a man among us who has even
one eye wide open? Is there not a corner of it still sealed? Are our
mental and spiritual faculties really quickened to the utmost, or are
we not still, to a large extent, as dreamers compared with what we
ought to be in the Presence of Christ? Come now, Brother, are your
highest powers thoroughly awakened? I believe that it was so with
Peter, James and John, and that what little spiritual faculty they then
possessed–for they were then but babes in Grace–was fully awakened to
learn all that could be learned from their Lord and Master in that
mysterious manifestation of His glory. Are we in such a condition as
that? There are many things that tend to make the soul go off into
sleep, so let us bestir ourselves, for, unless all our powers of mind
and heart are fixed upon our Lord, we shall not fully behold His glory.
And if ever there was a sight that demanded and deserved all a man's
powers of vision, it is the sight of the glorious Savior who stooped to
die for us and who now is at the Fathers right hand interceding for us!
When you hear the Gospel, hear it with both your ears and with your
whole heart and soul! When you are present in the assembly of the
saints, be really there–do not come, as some men do, leaving their
real selves at home or at their place of business. They sit here and we
think that they are here, but they are not! Their thoughts are far away
over the seas, or in their shops, even when the preacher is proclaiming
the glorious Gospel of the blessed God! You know that it is so with
many, but we cannot expect to have a clear sight of Christ until we are
fully awake as these three Apostles were upon the mountain.
But to what shall we be awake? Well, first, it is a good thing to be
awake to our present condition and circumstances. Brothers, Sisters,
you would be in Hell within an hour if God did not keep you from it by
His Grace. You who think you know Him best need constant supplies of
His Grace, else you would fall into the most sorrowful condition. You
are dependent upon Him every instant and for everything–for
consistency of life, for the smallest grain of faith, for hope, for
love, for peace, for joy, for steadfastness, for courage, for
everything! Now, dear Friend, are you fully awake to that fact? Do any
of us really feel how weak we are? How sinful we are? What floods of
depravity there are pent up within us ready to burst out at any moment?
Do we realize what terrible volcanic fires are hidden within our
thoughts, as if the fury of Gehenna had entered our nature? And who
alone can save us and who does save us? Brothers and Sisters, when you
are thoroughly awake to your dangers, to your needs, to your
weaknesses, then you will see Christ's glory! He is never rightly
valued until we see ourselves to be utterly valueless! Low thoughts of
self make high thoughts of Christ. Lord, awake us to know what we are,
for then shall we begin to see the glories of Your Son!
We must also be thoroughly awake to the mercies that we are constantly
receiving. Thousands of blessings come to us when we are sound asleep
in our beds and, oftentimes, we know nothing of many favors that come
to us in broad day-light–we are asleep, as it were, concerning them.
Think, dear Christian people, of your election! Think of your
redemption! Think of your effectual calling, of your cleansing by the
precious blood! Think of your washing by the Spirit with water by the
Word! Think how you have been held up, supplied, educated, comforted,
strengthened! Think of what yet remains for you of peace and joy in
this life and of the abundant entrance into the everlasting Kingdom of
your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Let your mind contemplate all the
mercies that are sure to come to you–and bless the Lord for them even
before they come, as faith reckons them to be already here. When you
are awake to all these mercies, then you will see your Lord's glory.
All these blessings will make you see what a glorious Savior–what an
infinitely gracious Lord He is to you! Father of Mercies, wake us up to
a sense of Your mercies, that we may see the glory of Jesus in them
all!
And, dear Friends, we ought also to be awake to all manner of holy
exercises. For instance, when we are awake to prayer, then we see
Christ's glory. Often what are our prayers? At morning and night a few
hurried sentences, when we are either half-asleep or scarcely awake. I
mean that, at night, we are ready to go to sleep over our devotions and
we nod even while we pray. And in the morning, when we get up, we have
hardly time, through the demands of business, to spend a proper time in
fellowship with our Lord. I bless God for our Prayer Meetings, for
there is much that is good in them. But do we, even there, pray as we
should? Those who speak for us are often graciously helped, but are not
those of us who sit silent and who should be praying to God, often
thinking of a thousand things instead of our supplications? We cannot
expect to meet with Christ while we are in prayer unless we are wide
awake! Then think of our singing. Praise is a blessed way of getting
near to Christ, but sometimes people sing mechanically, as if they were
wound up, like the old-fashioned organs that ground out a tune with
painful regularity–the poor pipes knowing nothing, of course, about
the sense or the meaning of the music–for there was no living hand to
touch the keys. Yet we sometimes sing like that–
"Hosannahs languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies." But, oh, when we are thoroughly awake in our
singing, then are we able to–
"Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father's Throne"–
and then we also–
"Prepare new honors for His name, And songs before unknown."
Many of us are coming presently to the Table of our Lord–what will
happen if we come there half-awake? Well, we shall not see the glory of
Christ in His ordinance! There will be bread and there will be wine,
but, to us, there will be nothing more, no body of Christ, no blood of
Christ, to be our spiritual meat and drink. The Master will not come
and sit down with a company of nodding disciples, all fast asleep
around the Table which is the special memorial of His great love to us.
"When they were awake, they saw His glory." And it must be the same
with us, also.
Now I want to press this thought home a little more closely. Brothers
and Sisters, if we are fully awake to holy service, then we shall see
the glory of Christ. Those among you who live to win souls for Christ,
whose soul is all on fire to try and carry the Gospel into some place
where as yet it is not known, are certain to see the glory of Christ.
While you serve Him, you shall see His face as they do who are with Him
in Heaven! I have read a great many biographies of men and women who
were full of doubts and fears, but when I have been reading about a man
who was full of sacred zeal, one who was wholly consecrated to the
service of his Savior, I have found very little about his doubts and
fears. Those two seraphic men, Whitefield and Wesley, seemed to have no
time for depression of spirits. They were always about their Master's
business. They flashed through the earth like flames of fire! They
seemed to be so girt about by God with His strength that they rode upon
the whirlwind and, consequently, as a rule, they enjoyed the Presence
of their Lord and were full of holy delight in Him.
So I believe it will be with those of us who addict ourselves to our
Master's service with all our might. If you are doing nothing for
Christ, you cannot expect to have His Presence and blessing. But if you
are serving Him with all your heart, not from the low motive that you
may win something by it, but entirely out of love to Him, then will He
come and manifest Himself to you as He does not unto the world! Some
Christians walk so slowly that sin easily overtakes them, while Christ
goes far before them, for He always walks a good honest pace and likes
not the sluggard's crawl. And some professors seldom get beyond that
pace, so they see but little of Him whom they call Master. If they were
awake–awake to His service–then they would see His glory!
But above all, dear Friends, we must be awake with regard to our Lord
Himself. Oh, that our hearts were fully awake to His love! He says to
each Believer, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Does our
wakeful heart reply, "Yes, Lord, that You have"? Are we awake to
remember all that He did by way of love even to the death for us? Are
we so awake as to have continually before us His Divine and Human
Person–His blessed condescending life–His wondrous atoning death? Are
we wide awake enough awake to know that He is with us now? Do you not
think that we are often like the disciples who saw Jesus standing by
the sea and knew not that it was Jesus? He comes to us in the way of
sickness, in the way of bereavement, in the way of heart-searching! We
do not know that it is Jesus, yet it is. Our eyes are blinded because
of our sleeping! If we were awake, we would soon perceive His glory. O
blessed Savior, by Your Cross
and passion, by Your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, awaken all
our spirits to perceive that You are not far from any one of Your
people and that Your Word is still true, "Lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world." III. I must not keep you much longer,
but I want to say that THIS DOCTRINE OF THE NECESSITY OF OUR
WAKEFULNESS IN ORDER THAT WE MAY SEE THE GLORY OF CHRIST, THROWS A
LIGHT ON SEVERAL THINGS.
First, it shows us why some see so little of the glory of Christ '
'Ah," says one, "I used to see it. I could not get through a sermon
without being moved at the thought of my Savior suffering for me, and
rising for me. But now I do not seem to get any good out of all the
services I attend." Whose fault is that? It is not His, for He is
unchanged. Is it mine? Perhaps so and yet, since others see him, surely
the blame cannot be allmine. Is it not your fault, Friend? You are not
as wide awake as you used to be! It is a curious thing when a man says,
"I do not knew how it is that I cannot see as I used to." Why, he has
not got his eyes open! Foolish man, let him awaken himself and when he
is thoroughly awake, then his eyes will be as good as ever and he will
see as much of his Lord's glory as he used to! Old age has not come
upon you yet, my Brother, my Sister, though you sorrowfully sing–
"Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?" Let me alter one line of the hymn and then
you may sing–
"Where is the wakefulness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?"
When you first joined the Church, you were all alive! Every power of
your being was full of zeal and earnestness. Do you recollect how you
stood in the aisle and never seemed to get tired? You wished that the
preacher would keep on for another half-hour. You remember how you
could walk several miles to the service, then, and when the minister
said, "I think you live too far away to worship with us," you replied,
"Oh, no, Sir! The distance is nothing when I get such food for my soul
as I find here. I am glad of the walk. It does me good." Now you write
a little note to say that you live so far off that you cannot often
come to the services. It also happens that you live far from every
other place of worship, too, so you begin to stay away from the House
of God–and then do you wonder that you feel no power and no delight in
your Lord? Of course you do not, for you are sound asleep! When you
awake again, you will see Christ's glory. Oh, for wakeful piety,
earnest religion–and plenty of it–no mere sprinkling of Grace, but a
thorough immersion into the very depths of it! May the Lord, in His
mercy, cause you to be filled with all the fullness of God, by the
power of His Spirit, till you shall be carried right away into a holy
life that shall write over the natural life of your manhood, "I live,
yet not I, but Christ lives in me."
Next, does not this fact explain why, in trials, we often get our
sweetest fellowship with Christ? If I might mark out the happiest
periods of my life, I would not choose those in which outward mercies
have been multiplied and success has followed success. But I think that
I would especially note those times when abuse followed abuse, when I
could hardly say a word without its being misrepresented and something
horrible being made out of things which were as good as good could
be–when lies flew about me as bullets whistle round the warrior's ears
in the midst of the battle! Then it was that I kept close to Christ and
lived on Him, alone, and I was among the happiest of the happy! When
the dog barks, then the people of the household wake up and the
burglars will not be likely to get in! And, sometimes, our troubles are
the very best things that can happen to us because they wake us up and
drive Satan away and make us fit us to see Christ's glory! We got into
a careless, drowsy condition when we were rich and increased in
goods–and then we went to sleep. So our Master came and pulled the bed
from under us and made us feel the cold–then we woke up and found that
Christ was close beside us, and our heart was glad. Thus, affliction or
trial is often a blessed means of Grace because it wakes us up so that
we see Christ's glory.
This fact also explains why dying saints often declare that they have
such blessed sights of Christ. Is it not because, as they die, they
really begin to live? They shake off the dull encumbrance of this house
of clay and they get into a clearer light, and so they truly live. They
wake up when they die! All their lifetime their business engagements or
other cares occupied their thoughts. But now they have done with
business, with care and they begin to awake, for the morning comes–the
blessed, everlasting morning that shall never know an eventide–and
they awake and see the glory of their Lord, and we, who sit by their
bedside, are often amazed! We cannot understand what they describe, for
we are the sleeping ones, and they are the awakened ones, waking up to
see Christ's glory!
But suppose that I were to take my text for just a minute and project
it a little way into the future? We shall soon fall asleep, Brothers
and Sisters. Some of the older ones among us will certainly do so!
Others of us very probablywill do so, and all of us, unless the Lord
shall come first, shall soon fall into that last quiet slumber which we
call death. But, what a awakening there will be, first of our soul,
when we shall see our Lord as He is! What must the first five minutes
in Heaven be if there are any minutes where time is swallowed up in
eternity? What must be the joy when, for the first time, we enter that
land where "they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord
God gives them light"? When we shall see the saints in Heaven, I
suppose that we shall not say much about them. They will be like Moses
and Elijah, "the two men that stood with Him." But, oh, when we shall
get our first glimpse of Jesus on His Throne, that will be a ravishing
sight beyond all conception! And then, when the next awakening comes,
when the trumpet sounds its mighty blast, and these poor limbs arise
out of their beds of clay, when we are awake, we shall see His glory!
Then shall we be satisfied, when we awake in His likeness! And then
shall His prayer be answered, "Father, I will that they, also, whom You
have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory."
Well, Beloved, be content to go to bed when there is such an awakening
in store for you! Learn to die every day. Regard your bed as a tomb and
every time you give yourself up to unconsciousness, and the image of
death is upon you, be practicing the art of dying, so that when, for
the last time, you must go upstairs and lie down once again, it may be
very, very sweet to feel, "I shall awake in the morning, the
everlasting morning, when all these shadows of this night of grief and
toil shall eternally have fled away! When I am awake, I shall see His
glory!"
The Lord grant to you and to me, dear Friends, to know all the bliss of
awakening to behold His glory! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MATTHEW17:1-5.
[Mr. SPURGEON does not appear to have commented on the chapter read
before he preached the foregoing Sermon. It has, therefore, been
decided to insert his exposition of the parallel passage in Matthew, as
he wrote it for The Gospel of the Kingdom. This will enable his Sermon
readers, who do not possess his last literary work, to judge as to the
contents of the volume upon which he was at workjust eight years ago,
within a few days of receiving the call Home. It is one of the most
precious of the many memorials of the "promoted" Pastor.]
Verses 1, 2. And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his
brother, and led them up on a high mountain, and was transfigured
before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was
white as the light. Were these "six days" a week's quiet interval in
which our Lord prepared Himself for the amazing transaction upon the
"high mountain"? Did the little company of three know from one Sabbath
to another that such an amazing joy awaited them? The three were elect
out of the elect, and favored to see what no one else in all the world
might behold. Doubtless our Lord had reasons for His choice, as He has
for every choice He makes, but He does not unveil them to us. The same
three beheld the agony in the Garden. Perhaps the first sight was
necessary to sustain their faith under the second. The name of the
"high mountain" can never be known, for those who knew the location
have left no information. Tabor, if you please. Hermen, if you prefer
it. No one can decide. It was a lonely and lofty hill. While in prayer,
the splendor of the Lord shone out. His face, lit up with its own inner
glory, became a sun! And all His clothes, like clouds irradiated by
that sun, became white as the light, itself. "He was transfigured
before them." He alone was the center of what they saw. It was a
marvelous unveiling of the hidden Nature of the Lord Jesus. Then was,
in one way, fulfilled the word of John– "The Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." The Transfiguration occurred
but once. Special views of the glory of Christ are not enjoyed every
day. Our highest joy on earth is to see Jesus. There can be no greater
bliss in Heaven! And we shall be better able to endure the exceeding
bliss when we have laid aside the burden of this flesh.
3. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with
Him. Thus the Law and the Prophets, "Moses and Elijah," communed with
our Lord, "talking with Him," and entering into familiar conversation
with their Lord. Saints long departed still live! They live in their
personality. They are known by their names and enjoy near access to
Christ. It is a great joy to holy ones to be with Jesus. They find it
Heaven to be where they can talk with Him. The
heads of former dispensations conversed with the Lord as to His decease
by which a new economy would be ushered in. After condescending so long
to His ignorant followers, it must have been a great relief to the
human soul of Jesus to talk with two masterminds like those of Moses
and Elijah! What a sight for the Apostles, this glorious trio! They
"appeared unto them," but they, "talked with Him." The objective of the
two holy ones was not to converse with Apostles, but with their Master.
Although saints are seen of men, their fellowship is with Jesus
4. Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to
be here. If You will, let us make here three tabernacles; one for You,
and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. The sight spoke to the three
beholders, and they felt bound to answer to it. Peter must speak–"Then
answered Peter." That which is uppermost comes out–"Lord, it is good
for us to be here." Everybody was of his opinion. Who would not have
been? Because it was so good, he would gladly stay in this beatific
state and get still more good from it. But he has not lost his
reverence and, therefore, he would have the great ones suitably
sheltered. He submits the proposal to Jesus. "If You will." He offers
that, with his Brothers, he will plan and build shrines for the three
holy ones. "Let us make here three tabernacles." He does not propose to
build for himself, and James, and John, but he says, "One for You, and
one for Moses, and one for Elijah." His talk sounds rather like that of
a bewildered child! He wanders a little, yet his expression is a most
natural one. Who would not wish to abide in such society as this?
Moses, Elijah and Jesus! What company! But yet how unpractical is
Peter. How selfish the one thought, "It is good for us"! What was to be
done for the rest of the twelve and for the other disciples, and for
the wide, wide world? A sip of such bliss might be good for the three,
but to continue to drink thereof might not have been really good, even
for them. Peter knew not what he said. The same might be said of many
another excited utterance of enthusiastic saints.
5. While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and
behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in
Whom I am well pleased. Hear Him. "While he yet spoke." Such wild talk
might well be interrupted! What a blessed interruption! We may often
thank the Lord for stopping our babbling. "A bright cloud overshadowed
them." It was bright and cast a shadow. They felt that they were
entering it and feared as they did so. It was a singular experience,
yet we have had it repeated in our own cases. Do we not know what it is
to get shadow out of brightness and "a voice out of the cloud"? This is
after the frequent manner of the Lord in dealing with His favored ones.
The voice was clear and distinct. First came the Divine attestation of
the Sonship of our Lord, "This is My beloved Son," and the Father's
declaration of delight in Him, "in Whom I am well pleased." What
happiness for us that Jehovah is well pleased in Christ and with all
who are in Him! Then followed the consequent Divine requirement, "Hear
Him." It is better to hear the Son of God than to see saints, or to
build tabernacles. This will please the Father more than all else that
love can suggest. The good pleasure of the Father in the Lord Jesus is
a conspicuous part of His glory. The voice conveyed to the ear a
greater glory than the luster of light could communicate through the
eyes. The audible part of the Transfiguration was as wonderful as the
visible!